In Flames thrived on pressure

Swedish metal outfit In Flames say they needed to put themselves under pressure to complete latest album Siren Charms.

Their 11th album launched in September and frontman Anders Friden says having just six weeks to write and record focused the band on the task ahead.

He tells the Artisan News Service: “We had a big bag of riffs which were excellent, but they needed structure. We put the framework of the songs together for the first two weeks and that was really exciting.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves with this album because we decided to record it in six weeks and last album Sounds Of A Playground Fading was done in twice that time.

“I think we needed that pressure to get this album the way it’s supposed to be.”

Friden also says the band never compare their studio work against previous material and insists each record is a different chapter in their career.

He continues: “We never compare the albums to each other – this is a new chapter and that’s how it is with every album. We don’t write music in between or on tour, that’s why every album will be slightly different.

“Every time we finish an album I’m super-happy the way it turned out, otherwise we would never release it – but we always look to the future to the next one.”

The band recently said inking a deal with Sony could lead to increased exposure, while former guitarist Jesper Stromblad stated his problems with alcohol only played a small part in his decision to quit in 2010.

In Flames head to the UK for three dates next week to promote Siren Charms.

Tour dates

Oct 16: Manchester Ritz

Oct 17: Glasgow O2 ABC

Oct 18: London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.